Roberts primed for Heineken return

Jamie Roberts has suffered another minor setback as he continues his new life after the Lions - but his latest injury is not expected to keep him out of the first round of Heineken Cup action.

The 22-year-old Cardiff Blues star returned from his first Lions adventure as the HSBC Player of the Tour and has admitted he is expecting to be a marked man throughout the new season.

Roberts made his first competitive appearance for the Blues against Connacht on September 18 but only lasted 40 minutes after picking up an ankle injury during the first half at The SportsGround in Galway.

Their had been talk that the injury would keep him out of last weekend’s derby match against the Scarlets at the Cardiff City Stadium but Roberts bounced back to start the Blues’ 19-15 win.

But, once again, Roberts failed to finish the match as a neck injury forced him to leave the field four minutes before the interval.

The Blues have since confirmed that the medical student will be out of action for just over a week and will therefore miss the Magners League encounter with Glasgow this Saturday.

"Jamie suffered an injury to his neck and the scan results have shown that there is no fracture,” said a Blues statement.

"There is, however, soft tissue damage that will mean he will be out of action for seven to 10 days.”

Fortunately for the Blues, Roberts is expected to be back in action in time for their Heineken Cup opener against Harlequins on October 10.

The absence of Roberts against Quins would have been a huge blow for Dai Young’s men as they look to build on last season’s Heineken Cup achievements when they reached the last four of Europe’s premier club competition.